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Want to talk about Multiple Myeloma: Anyone else?
Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (414)Comment receiving replies
At this point i dont see anything good about this disease the morphine is cutting thru the pain. Making my sister very groggy but still has pain. She’s supposed to hit the button every time she wants a dose of pain medication but she cant focus on anything but her pain. Doctor wont give fentanyl patches unless she cant tolerate the morphine. Which I’d say by the time it touches the pain she’ll be comatose..she went into hospital alert but in extreme pain. Now she stares off into space. She can’t see so blind and still in level 9 pain..i will see what’s next..for pain relief. Thanks for listening..
Replies to "At this point i dont see anything good about this disease the morphine is cutting thru..."
That’s horrible. They need to figure out how to address her pain without snowing her so she can’t be alert to her surroundings.
Keep barking up the physician food chain. They can’t just let her suffer.
My husband’s oncologist (died of colon cancer in 96) told me that being a cancer patient is a horrible thing but nothing feels as helpless as being that person’s caretaker. When he said it I blew him off because I was in warrior mode, but once that responsibility lifted I recognized the toll it had taken on me.
Be kind to yourself. This is hard work.
Errrr....I think the fact that she is requiring so much morphine and is still at a level 9 for pain states pretty darn clearly that the morphine ISN'T WORKING FOR HER PAIN, thereby meeting their criteria for approving Fentenyl for pain relief. On top of that, morphine is known to decrease respiration which leads to another set of problems. I think her doctors need to have her despair shoved down their throats if that is what is needed for them to have even a little bit of empathy. MM bone pain can be agonizing after a new fracture, uncomfortable about one month into the two month healing time, and annoyingly uncomfortable after that. No bending, lifting, or twisting helps to prevent new fractures. She is lucky she has a sister advocating for her....
That sounds horrifying. I’m so sorry. You may have covered this and I missed it, but is there a chronic pain specialist to whom she can be referred? Sometimes palliative care teams have one, which sounds scary for those actively engaged in fighting disease, but one has to consider quality of life.
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My heart goes out to your sister. I had a period of time when morphine wasn’t keeping up with the pain and fentanyl patches made me horribly ill. I was put on a fentanyl pump which was a godsend. Maybe this might be an option for her.
Is she seeing any improvement with her chemo regimen? When there is strong bone pain associated with Multiple Myeloma, radiation therapy can sometimes be used in conjunction with chemo to help ease the pain.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-myeloma/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353383
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https://www.webmd.com/cancer/multiple-myeloma/multiple-myeloma-radiation#:~:text=Radiation%20can%20help%20when%20a%20tumor%20is%20pressing,55%20people%20got%20radiation%20for%20treatment%20of%20pain.
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Has this possible treatment been brought up by her doctors?